This invention relates to a gear shift control apparatus for use with an automotive vehicle to control gear shift operation in the automatic transmission.
It is the conventional practice to perform gear shift control with the use of a shift pattern which specifies an appropriate gear position as a function of vehicle speed and throttle angle. With such a conventional gear shift control, however, it is difficult to reflect the driver's intention for gear shift operation on the gear shift control in fast response. It is now assumed that the driver expects a gear shift operation and depresses the accelerator pedal. If the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal is somewhat insufficient for the operation point specified by the sensed engine speed and throttle angle to cross the corresponding one of the gear shift lines of the shift pattern, no gear shift operation is made in the automatic transmission. Thus, the driver is required to depress the accelerator pedal again.